


A Life In Pictures

by zagirlfriends



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Cheryl Blossom Needs a Hug, F/F, Serpent Girlfriends, all are fairly short and fluffy and will probably stay that way, and toni topaz is more than happy to give her one
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-17
Updated: 2018-09-04
Packaged: 2019-06-11 16:51:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 8,886
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15319926
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zagirlfriends/pseuds/zagirlfriends
Summary: An assortment of drabbles originally posted on Tumblr based on short prompts.





	1. i.

**Author's Note:**

> _“This is going to hurt.”_

Cheryl Blossom has always had a deep appreciation for art.

Quite ironic, really, that it was her hideous parents that taught her at such a young age to admire and value only beautiful things.

As she grew older, though, and out of many things Clifford and Penelope Blossom tried so hard to instill in her, Cheryl’s love of art only continued to grow with her.

And now, while she still adores the brush strokes of a da Vinci, the once unrelatable romance of a Beethoven, and the slant rhymes of a Dickinson, lately, Cheryl’s begun to see and appreciate the many other forms of art to be found all around her, too.

The high notes of the latest Pussycats covers or a perfectly crafted verbal evisceration of a Bulldog that got too handsy with a girl from New York; the unfinished sketch of her beloved tucked safely between the pages of her history book or the unassuming beauty captured in an old wrinkled Polaroid of a trailer on the Southside.

Or, as Cheryl has most recently discovered, the intricate and careful designs of black ink on smooth skin.

“Tattoos are for the poor,” her mother had once told her, and it had been a lesson that stuck for longer than most of the others.

But, while Cheryl can’t deny the way her nose still turns up at the sight of some of the vulgar and overall visually offensive tattoos she’s seen littered all over some of the equally offensive unmoisturized skin exposed to her recently, she also can’t help but find the beauty in others now.

Like Toni’s tattoo, the two headed serpent that sits on her rib cage, just past breast; a little smaller than most of the others Cheryl has noticed, but still etched into her like a badge of honor, all the same. 

It’s not the most stylish rendering of a snake Cheryl has ever seen, or even the best tattoo work either, but something about it always captures her attention; has her fingers brushing across it delicately and her lips lingering over it just a little bit longer, too.

“I got it right after I did my dance,” Toni tells her when Cheryl asks about it one night just a couple weeks into the summer; the pride she takes in her branding overpowering the resentment Cheryl knows she still harbors for her initiation. “Sweet Pea’s older cousin did it for me right there in the Wyrm.”

Cheryl smiles because Toni is, hers more fond than proud, and her fingers twirl strands of messy pink hair as she thinks. “When am I to have mine done?” she wonders, not for the first time.

She never would have dreamed of marring her perfect ivory skin with any kind of ink not too long ago, but she isn’t who she used to be.

She’s a Serpent now, after all, fully fledged as of five days ago.

(Cheryl didn’t have to do the dance, thanks to Toni, but she did it just for her anyways, because dancing is a form of art, especially the way she moves, and art means very little if it isn't shared.)

“Whenever you want,” Toni promises, warm hand settling on the curve of her hip. “You know where you wanna get it yet? On your neck like Sweets?”

“Same as you, TT,” Cheryl answers easily, smile growing as she feels Toni’s palm slide up to rest at the spot that will soon be a canvas, her thumb rubbing soft circles over it.

Toni leans forward, grinning into a kiss. “Sounds perfect, Bombshell.”

 

Cheryl decides over breakfast the next morning that she wants to get it done that day, and so they find themselves in a local tattoo parlor by mid afternoon - one that doesn’t have a snake charmer working out of the back of it.

Toni had offered to give it to Cheryl herself back at Thistlehouse, telling her girlfriend all about how she had been the one to give both Fangs and Jughead theirs.

But Cheryl declined, preferring to deal with the abundance of secondhand smoke and the tacky black aesthetic of _Tattoo Temple_ \- the best reviewed tattoo parlor on the Northside - just so Toni can hold her hand through it instead.

“This is going to hurt,” Toni warns her as she laces their fingers together, keeping her eyes on Cheryl’s even as the tattoo artist settles on her other side and his gun buzzes to life. “So squeeze as hard as you need to.”

Cheryl tenses at the first touch of the needle and her grip on Toni’s hand only tightens when the pain starts.

“It’s okay,” Cheryl forces out through a strained smile, tugging their joined hands to her upturned red lips.

They say great art comes from great pain, after all. 


	2. ii.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _“You’re too good for this world.”_

It’s the beginning of maple syrup season, and the wolves have made their yearly descent upon Riverdale.

Cheryl can remember when this used to be her favorite time of the year; she can also remember when the Blossom name used to be something she was proud of, too.

But times change, and so do people, and Cheryl just wants this entire charade to end. 

“I’ve never seen so many gingers in one place before,” Sweet Pea comments from her side, looking entirely out of place in one of Jason’s old suits that doesn’t fit his giant frame very well at all. “I feel like one of them is gonna steal my soul any minute now. No offense, Red.”

He and Toni have gotten more than a few dirty looks from family and board members all evening, but nobody has dared to actually say anything with Cheryl sandwiched protectively between them.

She had proudly introduced Toni as her girlfriend at the tree tapping ceremony earlier in the week, when she graciously agreed to fill in for Jason the way Archie had the year before.

Everyone’s surprise and distaste had been obvious - though Cheryl is less clear on if it had more to do with Toni’s gender or the branded leather jacket she was sporting - but they hadn’t said anything then, either.

They’re here to kiss Cheryl’s ass, after all, as the sole heir of Clifford Blossom’s fortune and assets, because they want her out as fast and easily as possible.

The company is nothing close to what it used to be after all the scandals and investigations, and it surely never will be again, but they seem to think there’s something salvageable there; if they can push the right people out and rebuild from the ground up.

They don’t seem to get that Cheryl doesn’t need to be pushed out, though; that she’s more than happy to sell her share and wash her hands of everything that has to do with the Blossom name and all the blood that comes with it.

“Are you okay?” Toni asks from her other side, when Cheryl’s been too quiet for too long. “Do you want a refill?” It takes Cheryl a second to register her words, but before she can even answer, Toni’s taking her half full glass and handing it off to Sweet Pea with an order to top her off. She waits until the boy is out of ear shot before she questions Cheryl again. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong, TT,” Cheryl tells her girlfriend, and it might be the first time she’s ever said that without lying. Her eyes scan the crowded room, and she remembers how tiny she felt in here last year. “I suppose I’m just reminiscing on Blossom Banquets of Past.” She sends Toni a smile, and she finds it’s not forced at all. “Jason was always the center of attention at these gatherings; always the star, the future of the company. The board never saw me fit to take over for daddy. Nor did he.”

That’s not entirely true, though, Cheryl remembers with haunting clarity. _  
_

_You are a Blossom, through and through_ , her father had told her close to the end, the words she had once longed to hear leaving her feeling nothing but shame when she finally did.

“That’s a _good_ thing, Bombshell,” Toni assures her, reaching for her hand so she can lace their fingers together. “You’re too good for this world; for these people and whatever evil shit they’re bound to cook up. You’re so much better than all of this.”

It’s almost funny, how nice that feels to hear, considering how badly she used to want to been seen as good enough for it all; before she realized being seen as a true Blossom was _nothing_ to aspire to.

“I know,” Cheryl promises, proud smile tugging at her lips as she leans down to press them softly against Toni’s cheek in gratitude. “But thank you for saying that. And for truly believing it.”

Cheryl knows it’s most important that she believes it herself - and she does, most days - but it doesn’t hurt to have an amazing girlfriend to make sure she doesn’t forget.


	3. iii.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _“Do you trust me?”_

Toni’s been trying to get Cheryl on her motorcycle for weeks, since back when they were _just friends_ \- if they ever even were just that.

The first time she’d suggested it was that night at Pop’s, when their milkshakes were done and Cheryl’s eyes had dried, and it was time to head home.

(Cheryl had driven her car there, but even though the tears had long since stopped, Toni wasn’t sure if she was up for driving, and if it meant she had an excuse to see Cheryl again the next day to drive her back to get her car, well, that was just an added bonus.)

Her refusal had been expected, though the politeness of it was less so; she didn’t even call it a _death trap_ or a _hunk of junk_ or anything like Toni had pictured so clearly in her head before offering her a ride home anyways.

Cheryl had seemed more shy than scared that night, so Toni had asked again a few days later, after they had talked a couple more times, and though her tone was more coy, her answer had still been _no_.

It became kind of a challenge for her after that, and she suspects it’s a lot like a game for Cheryl too; like she just turns her down to be difficult more than anything else.

But they’re dating now, officially, and what is even the point of having a badass motorcycle if her super hot girlfriend won’t ride around on it with her?

“Come on, Bombshell, what’s it gonna take to get you on here?” she all but whines one afternoon as she leans against her bike. “Do you want one of those little side cars?”

Cheryl scoffs. “I hardly think so.” She tosses her hair over her shoulder, and crosses her arms over her chest as she eyes the bike wearily. “I would look absurd.”

“Then what?” When Cheryl doesn’t answer and won’t look at her, Toni wonders if maybe she was wrong that first night after all, and every time after that, too. “Is it really because you’re scared?”

“It just doesn’t seem entirely safe,” Cheryl sounds reluctant to admit. “And considering my propensity for tragedy, surely you can understand my hesitance to tempt fate. It’s risky enough I let _you_ ride around on that thing still.”

Toni can understand that, of course, to the point where she almost gives in, but she just _knows_ Cheryl would love it if she just let herself go enough to gave it a try.

Reaching out to her girlfriend, Toni tugs Cheryl’s hands free and pulls her closer, until she standing between her feet and she can hold her by the hips.

“Do you trust me?” Toni asks simply, looking up at Cheryl through her eyelashes.

“ _Of course_ I do,” Cheryl is quick answer, voice firm and leaving no room for doubt. “I trust you implicitly.” She’s told Toni every one of her deepest, darkest secrets, after all. “You must know that.”

Toni nods, a hint of a smirk tugging at the corner of her mouth, because of course she knows that; she’s not the one that needs a reminder.

“Then _trust_ that I would never have you do anything that might get you hurt,” she tells her pointedly, and her smirk becomes more of a smile as Cheryl visibly relents.

“Okay, fine,” the redhead concedes, bottom lip jutting out in a pout that Toni knows is mostly for show.

Toni beams at her, eyes bright as she all but bounces in her spot. “Finally! You’re gonna love it, Bombshell, I promise. _Wait here_.”

With a quick kiss, Toni slips out from between Cheryl and her bike and runs inside her trailer to get what she needs.

She comes back out less than a minute later, with a brand new cherry red helmet in her hands and a cheeky grin on her face when she catches Cheryl’s initial reaction before she’s able to mask it.

“Presumptuous of you,” Cheryl says coolly as she takes the helmet that’s handed to her, but Toni can see how much she appreciates the gesture. “Had I known I would be receiving a gift upon agreeing, I may have been persuaded much sooner.”

Toni would be exasperated, if she didn’t find every ridiculous thing about Cheryl so damn endearing.

So when she rolls her eyes, it’s only fondly, and when she takes the helmet back from Cheryl to carefully slip it onto her head, she grabs the sides of it and tilts it forward so she can give the top of it a noisy kiss.


	4. iv.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _“Who did this to you?”_

This isn’t the first time Toni’s come home with a busted up face, and it probably won’t be the last, either.

She’d hope Cheryl won’t ask about it, but she's never been one to wish for miracles.

Cheryl’s a worrier, at least when it comes to Toni and her safety, but it’s not like she can blame her; not only has Cheryl lost more people and things than anyone should ever have to, but they’re in an actual _gang_ , so. As far as reasons to worry go, that’s a pretty good one.

Even now that Cheryl’s a Serpent too, and she knows how capable they all are, she still worries over every little cut and bruise Toni gets.

Normally, it’s sweet and Toni appreciates the concern, but tonight she’s dreading the inevitable question because the answer is something she'd rather not share.

“What happened?” she hears Cheryl ask before she even sees her, and Toni cringes at the combination of worry and anger in her voice. "Who did this to you?"

It’s always more worry than anger at first, until she surveys the damage and gets the full story of who dared to hurt her girlfriend.

“It’s nothing,” Toni tries to play off, just as always; it really is a routine at this point. “There was just a small fight, no biggie.”

“You have a black eye and a busted lip,” Cheryl counters, her voice stern while the hands that cup her face are nothing but soft. “Was it one of those animals?” She means the Ghoulies.

Toni could lie, and maybe she should, but really, she would never. She’d made a promise to herself long ago that she’d never lie to Cheryl, and she’s not about to start now; not even to protect her feelings.

She shakes her head a little, just enough for Cheryl drop her hands. “It was Bootsie, at the meeting.” He’s a fellow Serpent, one of the older members that had been buddies with Tall Boy and shared his distaste for a lot of Jughead's leadership choices; most recently, the decision to let a Blossom in, and he isn’t shy about voicing that opinion. “He was just running his mouth again.”

“ _Toni_ ,” Cheryl sighs, and the obvious guilt in her voice makes Toni’s heart hurt; the only thing Cheryl hates more than Toni getting hurt is when she gets hurt because of her. “We’ve discussed this; it’s best you ignore him. If you start a rumble with everyone that speaks ill of me, you’re sure to get yourself killed. And I would never forgive you if you let that happen.”

Toni doesn’t even bother pretending to consider that an option, no matter how logical she knows it is. She hates that it worries Cheryl, but there’s no reality in which she’d ever let anyone trash talk her girlfriend without consequences, especially not people that are supposed to be her family.

“For what it’s worth, Sweet Pea hit him first,” Toni argues halfheartedly instead of making false promises, nose scrunching up as she reluctantly follows it up with the rest of the story, “Mostly because he was closer and Fangs was holding me back, but _still_. He technically started it, so be mad at him.”

“I’m not mad at you, TT,” Cheryl says with another sigh, her head shaking like what she’s feeling is more like disappointment and _god_ , that’s so much worse. “I appreciate you defending my honor, I truly do, I just-”

“Worry,” she finishes for her with a nod. “I’d tell you not to, but I know I’d just be wasting my breath.”

This time, Cheryl laughs, just a little.

“Yes, I know the feeling well,” she agrees with a small smile, but it’s enough to let Toni know she’s off the hook. “Well, come on then, let me get you cleaned up.”

Toni’s lip stings when she returns Cheryl’s smile, but she doesn’t complain a bit as she’s dragged towards the kitchen.


	5. v.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _“If you had asked me to stay, I would’ve.”_

Things with Cheryl have been off all day, and Toni can’t figure out why. 

She knows her girlfriend has a tendency to be dramatic - both when it’s warranted and often times when it’s not - but she usually at least knows _why_.

But today, Toni has no idea why Cheryl hasn’t returned any of her texts or why she wasn’t waiting for her at her locker when she got to school this morning, or why she barely even looked at her in first period. 

She considers asking one of her sometimes-friends, because maybe something has happened since she left Thistlehouse the day before, but she doesn’t need to when she ends up finding Cheryl before finding anyone else.

“Hey, you,” she greets her girlfriend with a smile, acting like nothing is off in case it’s all just been in her head. When Cheryl only returns her smile with a tight lipped one of her own, Toni knows she isn’t making this tension up. “Okay, what’s up with you? What’s wrong?”

Cheryl tears her eyes away from her book to watch as Toni sits down on the couch beside her, but looks away again as soon as Toni is settled. 

“You’re a smart girl, Antoinette,” Cheryl says dismissively, but with a pointed edge. “Surely you can venture a guess.”

Toni cringes at her full name, and tries to rack her brain for what she could’ve done to upset Cheryl so much that she’d used it. 

“I got nothing, Cher,” Toni admits after replaying the last twenty-four hours in her head and coming up empty. “We were fine when I left your place yesterday and we haven’t even spoken since…” It only occurs to her then, of course, and she feels like an idiot for not realizing sooner. “Is this about me leaving? You said you were okay.”

Yesterday had been the anniversary of Clifford Blossom’s death, and while there wasn’t much love lost between Cheryl and her deceased father and she never gave any indication that she was particularly affected by the date, something _had_ seemed off when Toni left Thistlehouse to go work on an English project with Fangs the night before, but she’d totally forgotten about it.

“Yes, well,” is all Cheryl has to say to that, but it says all Toni needs to know.

Toni sighs, watching her girlfriend ignore her silently for a moment before she reaches out and gently takes the book out of her hands so Cheryl will look at her. 

“If you had asked me to stay, I would’ve,” Toni tells her softly, trying to sound reassuring despite the slight frustration she feels. She gets, after all, but that doesn’t mean she likes it. “I can’t read your mind, Bombshell. I’m usually pretty good at reading you - like right now, I know you’re more hurt than you are angry - but I’m not always gonna know what you want if you don’t tell me.”

Cheryl bites her lip, eyes drifting away from Toni’s as she looks appropriately chastised. “I know,” she admits after a moment, her shoulders slumping as she drops her bothered facade. “You’re right.”

“Of course I am,” Toni teases, to lighten the mood and make sure Cheryl knows that she’s not upset with her. It earns her a smile; a small one, but it’s still enough to let her know it worked as she wanted. 

Cheryl is quiet for a moment, and Toni gives her the time she needs, content to just sit with her and run her fingers through red hair.

“I don’t know how to do this, Toni,” Cheryl finally admits, taking a breath and forcing her gaze to return to her girlfriend as she opens up. “It’s not often I’m at a loss for what to do, and it’s even less so that I don’t know what to _say_ , but this… I don’t know how to do this.”

“To talk to me?” 

“To be in a relationship,” Cheryl corrects her, and right, _of course_ , Toni should have known that. “To have someone that truly, _genuinely_ , cares for me.” She turns her palm up, and Toni doesn’t hesitate to cover it with her own. “Other than JJ, I’ve never really had someone before, that would have actually stayed if I asked them to.” She squeezes Toni’s hand then, as if to assure her that she really does know she has that now. “So it doesn’t come naturally, to even think to ask.”

Toni’s heart aches at Cheryl’s words, because she knows just how true they are. This isn’t a line or an excuse, it’s the result of long term abuse and loneliness, and the only way Toni can combat that is with time.

“Well, get used to it,” Toni tells her resolutely, shifting closer on the couch so she can kiss Cheryl, soft and sweet and with all of her love. “Because I’m not going anywhere.”

Cheryl’s eyes shine with something other than just tears, and Toni knows that, at least in this moment, she believes her.


	6. vi.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _“Could you be happy, here, with me?”_

It doesn’t occur to Cheryl until half way through the summer that she doesn’t know what Toni’s plans are for the future.

Hell, it takes Cheryl just as long for her to realize she doesn’t even know her own plans, either. Not anymore.

While Cheryl’s vision of her future had always been kind of vague, at least in comparison to Jason’s, she had always pictured herself involved in the family business in some way or another, even if that picture was blurry.

It’s not really what she ever truly wanted, she doesn’t think - not even when her parents’ approval was what she wanted more than anything - but Cheryl never allowed herself to dream of much else, so. That had been that.

But not anymore.

Now that her murderous father is dead and she’s out of the controlling clutches of her evil mother, well, Cheryl’s future is wide open; she’s just been too focused on surviving the present, and the past, to give it much thought.

When she thinks of her future now, though, all Cheryl really knows for sure is that Toni’s in it - that Toni _is_ it.

“What did you want to be when you were younger?” Cheryl asks her one day while they’re lounging by the pool, tangled together on a canopy that’s shielding them from the too hot sun.

“Like little kid unrealistic?” Toni wonders, and Cheryl hums, happy to know anything about her girlfriend that she wants to share. “I remember wanting to be a pirate.”

A fond smile stretches across red lips. “You would look absolutely dashing with an eye patch, I’m sure.”

“And I’m good with a sword,” Toni jokes back, and Cheryl’s sure of that, too.

“What about your more realistic dreams?” she questions gently a moment later, fingers tracing all kinds of shapes on Toni’s warm thigh. “When you were older?”

“ _Dreams_ and the _Southside_ don’t really go together,” Toni answers easily, not sounding sad or disheartened or even angry about it; maybe something closer to resigned. "I kinda just figured I’d work at the Wyrm for the rest of my life, maybe become a bitter old hag like Birdie or something.” Cheryl feels a tinge in her chest as she imagines Toni - wonderful, smart, caring, amazing Toni - wasting her life away like that. It almost makes her thankful for Hiram Lodge and his pet Ghoulies, for making sure that can’t happen anymore. “Guess I gotta find a new plan now, huh?”

And maybe it should be scary, but Cheryl almost finds it comforting, to know Toni’s in the same boat as her; that her future is as blurry as hers is; that maybe they can draw up a clearer picture _together_.

“Would you-” Cheryl starts but then pauses, shaking her head as she tries to find better words. It’s rare she ever trips over her words, but this is too important a question to ask the wrong way. She takes her sunglasses off so Toni can look into her eyes. “Could you be happy, here, with me?”

She’s not sure if she means in Thistlehouse, or the Northside or Riverdale in general - maybe she means none of it. Maybe Cheryl just wants to know if Toni could be happy with _her,_ whatever their future looks like.

“Bombshell, I could be happy with you anywhere,” Toni answers with a grin, and something about the way she says it sounds a lot like a promise.

And that’s all Cheryl needs to know.


	7. vii.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _“Keep your eyes on me.”_

Toni doesn’t think she’s ever felt this kind of anger before. 

It might not be the angriest she’s ever been - that’s a very high bar to pass when you’ve lived a life like hers - but Toni’s certain she’s never felt a _rage_ quite like this.

“Betty did _what_?” she asks through clenched teeth, even though she heard Cheryl loud and clear the first time. 

The redhead sitting beside her shifts nervously on the couch, and it’s obvious that she hadn’t meant to share this information right now, or maybe ever. 

“She blackmailed me,” Cheryl repeats reluctantly. “To testify for FP, with the tape of daddy shooting JJ.”

Toni curls her hands into fists as she listens, her anger only increasing the second time around. Her darkened eyes scan the lounge until they land on Betty, where she’s sitting with Jughead, Archie and Veronica across the room, completely oblivious to the building rage inside of her.

It makes Toni physically sick sometimes, when she thinks of all the awful shit Cheryl has had to go through - that the people closest to her have _put her through_ \- and how she’s had to go through all of it alone. 

It’s like everytime Toni thinks she’s heard every shitty thing Cheryl’s had to endure, there’s something else to discover. 

And Toni can’t do anything to Clifford Blossom, obviously, and probably not Penelope either, or fucking Nick St. Clair, with his rich mobster family, but Betty? Betty Cooper is someone Toni can protect Cheryl from, even if it is retroactively. 

Oh, but Cheryl is giving her a _look_ and maybe it’s not about Toni at all. 

Nobody else ever cares what Cheryl wants, or what she needs - they just take what _they_ need and move along, without caring what they leave behind - and Toni would carve her own tattoo off before she became another name for Cheryl to add to that list.

“ _Toni_ ,” Cheryl’s voice cuts through her thoughts, her tone a weird combination of pleading and warning. “Just don’t look at her. Keep your eyes on me.”

She has Toni’s face in her hands now, palms cupping both her cheeks to keep brown eyes on hers, and it’s the first time it’s ever hurt to look at Cheryl.

“Cher, what she did to you…” There aren’t words, at least not ones she knows - Cheryl probably knows a bunch of fancy words for it, though. “You didn’t deserve that.” 

“No, I didn’t,” Cheryl agrees, and Toni wonders if that’s something she’s always known. “But what’s done is done. Betty was merely trying to help her beau and times were desperate. I can’t pretend that I wouldn’t do something equally heinous for you if I needed to.”

(That probably shouldn’t be something that makes Toni’s heart flutter, but well, they are who they are.)

Cheryl’s eyes are pleading with her and maybe Sweet Pea was right when he said Toni was going soft.

“Fine,” she concedes _very reluctantly_ , covering one of Cheryl’s hands with her own and turning her head enough to press a kiss to her palm. “I won’t go over there and chop off her ponytail.”

“Thank you,” her girlfriend replies all too sweetly, and pulls Toni closer for a kiss. “I hope you know that I truly appreciate the sentiment, though.”

Toni smiles into a second kiss, but it’s bittersweet, because she knows all too well how much this simple act of caring means to Cheryl - because nobody else has ever bothered to show it to her. 

“It’s what I’m here for, Bombshell,” Toni promises, more than ready to be there for all the other people who aren't, too


	8. viii.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _“You don’t get to pick and choose. You’re stuck with me.”_

Toni doesn’t regret asking Cheryl to join the Serpents, but she can see why her girlfriend might think she does.

It’s just that when she suggested it, she’d mostly been thinking about all the positives involved in being part of her gang, and not so much the negatives.

It’s no secret that Cheryl’s life has been depressingly awful; what, with all the murder and death and abuse clouding her family.

Toni just wanted Cheryl to have a family; a real one, that would protect her and be there for her whenever she needed it - that would never let her be alone.

The Serpents have given Toni that comfort for years, so it only seemed logical to try to extend that same sense of family to the girl she cares so much about, who needed it more than maybe anyone Toni had ever met.

She’s only realizing now just how incredibly short-sighted she’d been.

Because while yes, the Serpents are a family, they’re also an actual _gang_ and why the hell did Toni think it was a good idea to have her girlfriend join a _gang_?

“You can sit this one out, you know?” she not so subtly suggests to Cheryl while everyone else gears up to confront a group of Ghoulies that have been trying to start trouble with them recently.

Toni doesn’t miss the way Cheryl rolls her eyes as she counts her arrows. “Why ever would I do that?”

“Because you’ve never been to one of these things before,” Toni points out, eyes pleading even though Cheryl’s not even looking at her. “This isn’t West Side Story, okay? People can get seriously hurt.”

Cheryl’s hands still and her jaw clenches, but she still keeps her eyes averted. “I’m fully aware of what I’m walking into, Toni.”

“Are you?” she questions, lightly tugging on Cheryl’s arm until the redhead finally meets her gaze. “Because you’re bringing a _bow and arrow_ to a gang fight.”

While she was just hoping for her eyes, Toni’s got Cheryl’s entire body facing her now, and not in the way she likes. “I’m not some wilting flower you need to protect from danger.”

“I know that,” Toni replies quickly, but Cheryl isn’t finished.

“Need I remind you that I fended off a seasoned serial killer with this _bow and arrow_?” she adds with a very pointed finger jab. “Albeit said serial killer turned out to merely be Betty’s doughy father, but the point still stands; I can handle myself just fine.”

“Cher, I know that,” Toni repeats, and she also knows she’s going to lose this argument, but it’s almost over now, so she might as well see it through. “I just don’t want you to get hurt.”

“I’m a Serpent now, Toni,” Cheryl reminds her firmly, fingers tugging at the lapels of the bright red leather jacket she’s wearing. “That means _all the time_ , not just when it’s fun or convenient; you don’t get to pick and choose. You’re stuck with me. A Serpent never sheds its skin,” she recites dutifully, and the pride in her voice makes Toni _feel things,_ despite everything. “If you weren’t prepared for all that would entail, then you shouldn’t have asked me to join.”

Toni knows she’s right, and the way she deflates lets Cheryl know she’s won, so she doesn’t even bother with platitudes.

“Just promise me you’ll be careful,” Toni says instead, reaching forward to grab a fistful of Cheryl’s jacket and pull her closer. “And don’t do anything stupidly risky or excessive - you’re already gonna stand out like a sore thumb wearing this.”

Cheryl’s red lips pull into a smirk, all trace of annoyance gone as she peers down at Toni with a glint in her eyes. “Of course not,” she promises in faux innocence. “When have you ever known me to be extravagant?”

Toni practically snorts at the question, but decides against starting a second conversation she’s bound to lose.

She just kisses Cheryl for good luck, instead.


	9. ix.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _“I used to do a lot of things.”_

As unwavering as Toni’s support for Cheryl’s drive to be the lead in the school’s production of Carrie: The Musical is, she’s a lot less enthusiastic about the idea of participating in it herself.

“Come on, TT,” Cheryl all but whines when Toni rebuffs the idea for the first time. “It can be the first thing we do together as Riverdale High’s new power couple.”

And while those words certainly bring a smile to Toni’s face, it doesn’t change her answer. “Sorry, Bombshell,” she says with a slight grimace, clearly not enjoying disappointing her new girlfriend. “Musicals just aren’t really my thing.”

Cheryl can tell there’s more to it than that - she’s the expert at masks and hiding trauma behind them, after all - but she doesn’t push. Toni’s never pushed her to talk about anything she wasn’t comfortable with, so it’s only fair for her to extend the same courtesy.

 

 

It’s actually Fangs that brings it up next, when he sidles up to them while they’re at Toni’s locker the next morning.

“You trying out for the musical, Tiny?” he asks her, excited grin on his face. “You’d be a perfect Chris.”

Catching the way Toni tenses at the question, Cheryl decides to answer him for her. “I expressed similar sentiments, but apparently musicals aren’t Toni’s forte. So alas, it seems the show will have to go on without her.”

Cheryl was sure she was helping, but the way Toni’s jaw is clenching is giving her some doubts.

Fangs laughs before she can question it, though, and Cheryl looks up to find a similarly dubious expression on the boy’s face.

“What?” he wonders in confusion and playfully pushes Toni’s shoulder. “Tiny loves musicals, almost as much as me - it’s why she likes me more than Sweet Pea. We used to watch Moulin Rouge together all the time. Oh, and-”

The abrupt sound of Toni’s locker slamming shut cuts Fangs off before he can continue, and Toni stalks off towards her first class before Cheryl can ask her why she lied, either.

 

 

Even though Cheryl doesn’t exactly know what’s going on, she knows enough to assume Toni is going to avoid her for at least the rest of the day. Which is why she’s more than a little surprised to find her girlfriend sitting at their usual table in the cafeteria when lunch time comes around.

Toni accepts the kiss Cheryl presses to her cheek as she reaches her, but doesn’t say anything more than a greeting when she sits down beside her.

“So, I hear you used to watch musicals with your fellow gang member,” Cheryl says after the silence stretches on for too long for her liking, and she hopes her tone comes across as light and joking instead of accusatory.

“Yeah, well, I used to do a lot of things,” is Toni’s muttered reply, and Cheryl isn’t sure what to say to that. But before she can worry too much about it, Toni is sighing, all loud and defeated, and finally meets her curious gaze. “It was something I used to do with my mom,” she admits quietly, eyes soft in a way Cheryl has never seen before.

(She doesn’t know much about Toni’s family because Toni always seems much more interested in talking about Cheryl’s, but she knows bits and pieces - mostly from what she’s been able to gather herself through context clues. Like, Cheryl knows Toni’s mother is dead, not because she’s ever told her as such, but because the few times she’s mentioned her, it’s been in the past tense and with an air of mourning.)

Shifting closer to her on the bench, Cheryl wraps an arm around Toni’s shoulders, presses a kiss to her temple and whispers, “You don’t have to say anything more.”

“No, it’s okay,” Toni assures the redhead, but still leans into her embrace. “I think… I wouldn’t mind telling you about her, if you want.”

“Of course,” Cheryl is quick to answer, giving her shoulders a squeeze. “I would love to hear about the woman who raised my favorite person in the world.”

The rest of their lunch hour is spent filled with stories of Toni’s mother - mostly of the good, but a little of the bad, too - and by the end of it, Toni promises to at least consider auditioning for the musical.


	10. x.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _“How did we become this?”_ & _“Let’s do something crazy.”_

It’s a little past noon when Toni’s phone buzzes, and it takes her almost a half hour before she bothers to check the message waiting for her.

Probably not the most responsible behavior for someone in a gang, but she figures Cheryl would’ve gotten a text too if it had been Serpent business, and anything else can wait.

“It’s Jughead,” Toni tells her girlfriend when she’s finally reaches for her phone. “He and Betty and the other two are going to the quarry for a swim. He wants to know if we wanna come.”

“ _He_ does?” Cheryl asks with a skeptical eyebrow.

Toni snorts in agreement. “Probably Betty.”

“Well, tell him we’re not interested,” Cheryl decides for the both of them, and she receives no argument from Toni.

Maybe Toni wouldn’t mind going for a swim or getting out of the house, but she can’t say she’s all that interested in some weird triple date with two of the most nauseating couples in town. Especially not when she knows at least half of it will probably be spent discussing Archie’s impending trial.

 _Hard pass_.

Still, as unappealing as the invitation may be, it gets Toni thinking about all the other invitations they’ve turned down over the last two months. The summer is more than half over already, and so far, other than Serpent meetings, they’ve pretty much spent most of it holed up in Thistlehouse together.

And Toni isn’t complaining about that at all, obviously, but it’s not exactly how she imagined spending her first summer on the Northside with Cheryl.

“How did we become this?”she wonders aloud, tossing her phone back onto the table and curling into Cheryl again. **  
**

“And what, pray tell, are we?” her girlfriend questions, a slight edge of warning in her voice that might intimidate someone else, but not her.

“Soft, domestic, b-”

“Don’t you dare say boring,” Cheryl cuts her off, and pinches her lightly in the side. “I have never been boring a day in my life.”

Toni almost laughs at that, because she knows that to be true. “I’d never call you boring, Bombshell,” she promises, her lips curved into a smile as she presses them to the crown of Cheryl’s head for a kiss. “But come on, you’ve gotta admit we’ve kinda been wasting this summer so far.”

“I suppose you may have a point,” the redhead muses, nails scratching at the exposed skin of Toni’s flat stomach, still sun warmed from their morning by the pool. “But I’d hardly call time with me wasted.”

Toni smiles and kisses her again. “Got me there, babe,” she agrees, but still; they can be together off the property, too. “But that doesn’t mean we have to lock ourselves in here, no matter how huge the place is. We can go out, go somewhere; let’s do something crazy.”

“I’m sorry, was breaking me out of conversation therapy, a town wide riot, a kidnapping, a rumble with a rival gang and surviving the slayings of a masked serial murderer not _crazy_ enough for you?”

Well, when she puts it like that…

“Okay, so maybe not _crazy_ ,” Toni concedes with a laugh, and she tangles her fingers in Cheryl’s hair. “How about we just invite everyone over for a pool party instead? That way we can socialize without even having to leave. Small steps.”

Cheryl acts all put out, sighing and huffing and pretending to be annoyed, but she agrees in the end all the same.


	11. xi.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _“We have to stick together.”_

It’s only been a few hours since Archie’s been arrested, but it's already causing quite the divide between the student body; the Serpents, especially.

“Hiram Lodge set him up,” Jughead explains to his fellow Serpents gathered in their designated empty classroom. “He has it out for Archie, just like he has it out for us. We can’t just sit back and let him get away with this!”

“Andrews and I might be cool now, but that doesn’t make him my people,” Sweet Pea argues back, and judging by the murmurs that follow his statement, the other Serpents in the room are in agreement.

Toni grimaces at the obvious direction this impromptu meeting is taking, and presses a comforting hand to Cheryl’s back; it clear she’s upset and as worried about Archie as Betty and Jughead are, but she’s stayed silent thus far.

“Well, he’s _my_ people,” Jughead counters, hoping to invoke some kind of extended loyalty from the group, but Toni knows it’s not going to work.

“And nobody is stopping you from helping him,” Sweet Pea replies coolly. “But that doesn’t mean you can drag the rest of us into it, too. I don’t care if you’re King; this is a democracy.”

“He helped us escape that raid!” Jughead reminds him, eyes blazing and desperate. “He let us stay at his house! _He helped save Fangs’ life!_ ”

Sweet Pea remains completely unimpressed with his king’s pitch and turns to the others behind him. “We’re putting it to a vote,” he states, smug look in place because he already knows he has the majority on his side. “Everyone in favor of helping get Andrews out of a murder rap?”

Jughead, Betty and Cheryl all raise their hands without hesitation, and Toni follows suit not long after.

They’re the only ones.

“Of course,” someone voices from across the room, but Toni can’t make out who it was.

She recognizes Sweet Pea’s voice loud and clear, though; “All you Northsiders stick together.”

“I’m not a Northsider,” Jughead immediately reminds him defensively, scowl spread across his face as he takes in the lack of support he has.

“Neither am I,” Toni echoes firmly and with narrowing eyes.

Sweet Pea scoffs. “No, you’re just fucking them.”

“You better shut your damn mouth, Sweet Pea,” Toni hisses a warning sooner than Jughead can even register the offensive comment, and she starts taking determined steps towards the tall boy.

She can hear Cheryl telling her to let it go, and probably Betty doing the same, but she ignores them as the growing noise in the room drowns them out and Sweet Pea starts making his way towards her, too.

But Jughead’s commanding voice cuts through it all. “ _Enough!_ ” he shouts loudly, actually sounding like a leader, and it’s enough to get Toni and Sweet Pea to stop in their tracks. “Everyone, _cool off_.”

Toni doesn’t stop glaring at Sweet Pea, even as Cheryl gently tugs her away from him by the back of her jacket and towards the corner of the room.

“You didn’t have to do that,” Cheryl tells her gently once they have some privacy. She frames Toni’s face with her hands to keep her gaze on her and away from the boy she was ready to throw down with two seconds ago.

Toni looks at her incredulously. “After what he said? Cher-”

“No, not that,” Cheryl interrupts, her lip curling as she thinks of it. “ _That_ was entirely distasteful and I would have been more than happy to watch you slap him for it.”

“I was actually gonna punch him,” she informs her girlfriend.

“Even better,” Cheryl replies as her lips turn up more into a smile. “But I wasn’t referring to that.” She swipes her thumb across Toni’s face as she eyes her fondly. “I meant that you didn’t have to vote to help Archie simply because I did.”

Toni’s first instinct is to deny that that’s what happened, but then she’d be lying. It’s not like she plans on just blindly voting with Cheryl on everything - she expects there will be many things they don’t agree on going forward - but this is clearly important to her girlfriend, and it’s not like Toni has strong feelings _against_ it.

So of course she’d do that for Cheryl, Sweet Pea and his hissy fit be damned.

She could just explain that to the redhead, but instead she shakes her head and takes the hands on her face into her own and holds them in front of her.

“Things are a mess right now,” Toni reminds her with a sigh. “With the town and the Serpents; we have to stick together.” She squeezes Cheryl’s hands and pulls her closer. “You and me, yeah, but all of us, including Archie. Jones is right, this is obviously part of some new grand plan of Hiram’s and Sweet Pea is a bigger idiot than I thought if he thinks we’re not still on his radar. We should be doing what we can to make sure he doesn’t get what he wants, not hiding in the grass and letting him get away with this so he can come back at us even stronger.” 

Toni doesn’t realize she’s been ranting until she’s out of breath when she stops, but Cheryl doesn’t look like she minds.

Actually, her eyes are shining with so much adoration that Toni almost feels like she has to look away from it. “You would make an amazing Serpent Queen, my love. Way better than my dear cousin, bless her heart.”

“What?” Toni can’t help but laugh, the words not only surprising, but also totally crazy to her.

“You’re a born leader, TT,” Cheryl explains, leaning forward to peck Toni on the lips. “You go over there and tell them what you just told me and you’ll get the masses on our side, no question in my mind. Even the Unjolly Green Giant.”

Toni pauses, considering Cheryl’s idea. She glances across the room at the rest of the Serpents talking amongst themselves and thinks maybe her girlfriend’s right.

Jughead had been going about it all wrong, making it about himself and about Archie; Toni knows these people better than Jughead does and she knows how to get them to do something better, too.

Smiling to herself, Toni turns back to Cheryl and pulls her closer for another kiss. “I _really_ like you being a Serpent,” she whispers against plump red lips that curl into a smile of their own.

“And I really like being one,” Cheryl says back, kissing Toni one more time before pulling back and tugging her towards their fellow snakes for a (hopefully) much calmer conversation.


	12. xii.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _“Please don’t shut me out.”_

Cheryl knows something is off the second Toni starts acting weird, but figuring out the reason _why_ isn’t as easy.

She’s never been great at the whole empathy thing, but Cheryl is learning and it hurts her to know whatever is wrong with her girlfriend, she hasn’t come to her with it.

Cheryl wants to know so that she can comfort Toni the same way Toni has always comforted her, but she doesn’t want to push her or put her on the spot; it’s a courtesy Toni has always given her, so the least she can do is return it.

It’s a sentiment Veronica agrees with when Cheryl approaches her for advice at school.

“Maybe she needs time to fully process whatever it is that’s wrong,” she offers her friend with a sympathetic smile as she opens her locker. “I’m positive she’ll come to you when she’s ready. She loves you and you, Cheryl Blossom, much to the shock and awe of the skeptics out there, are an amazing girlfriend.”

That means more to Cheryl than she’s sure Veronica realizes. “You truly believe that?”

“I do,” Veronica promises with a firm nod and a friendly grin. “Just give her time, she’ll come to you. I’m sure of it.”

And so, hard as it is, Cheryl gives Toni time.

She lets Toni leave school on her own instead of coming back to Thistlehouse with her, she doesn’t comment when she comes home late and she even tries her hardest not to take offense when Toni stiffens at her touch.

But, when she hears Toni started a fight with some Bull Dogs at school and got herself suspended for the rest of the week, Cheryl decides that her time is up.

She gives her one last chance, though, when she actually comes home at a half decent hour.

“How was your day?” Cheryl inquires from her spot on their bed, Vogue magazine in her hands as she watches Toni enter their room.

“Fine,” is all she says, and even that feels like pulling teeth.

Cheryl sighs, closing her magazine and placing it on her nightstand. “Nothing noteworthy happened today at school that you might want to share with your live-in girlfriend?”

Toni stills for a moment, caught, before she tries to brush it off. “So, obviously you heard what happened.”

“From Reggie Mantle of all people,” Cheryl bemoans, brown eyes drilling into Toni from across the room. “But not my girlfriend.”

The disappointment in her voice must be even stronger than she thought, because Toni literally flinches at her words, and finally looks over at her.

“Cher…” she starts, sounding as lost as she looks, but nothing else comes. Her walls are down though, even if just a little, and so Cheryl takes her shot.

“Please don’t shut me out, love,” she pleads, voice visibly tugging at Toni’s resolve even more as she gets on her knees and crawls over to the edge of her bed where Toni is standing. “Not when I’ve tried so hard not to do that to you.” Cheryl reaches out to try to take Toni’s hand, and is surprised when the other girl doesn’t fight her. “Tell me what’s wrong. _Please_ , TT.”

The silence between them is heavy after that, and Cheryl holds her breath until Toni’s shoulders finally slump and she collapses onto the bed beside the redhead.

“I’m sorry,” Toni practically sobs, the tears coming fast and hard now that her walls have finally come down. “I’m so sorry, Cher, for pushing you away and being such a bitch.”

“Oh, honey,” Cheryl sighs, her own eyes getting a little teary as she watches her girlfriend fall apart right in front of her. Toni has always been so strong and composed, Cheryl’s never seen her like this before. “I- It’s okay,” she tries to assure her, shuffling closer to wrap her arms around her in what she hopes is a comforting hug. “It’s okay, I understand, babe, it’s okay.”

Toni continues to sob, surely about a lot more than just being distant, and Cheryl holds her the whole way through. She whispers platitudes that probably fall on deaf ears and rubs circles on Toni’s heaving back until slowly but surely, her sobs start to subside, and the only sound in the room is her sniffles.

“My grandfather is sick,” she finally admits, and her voice is so low Cheryl only barely catches it. “Like, really fucking sick, and he needs treatment but he doesn’t have insurance and he can’t afford it and…”

Cheryl frowns as she listens to what’s been bothering Toni this past week, and her heart breaks for her.

She knows how important Toni’s grandfather is to her and she wishes there was something she could do, but while Cheryl has only met him a couple of times, she also knows that if he’s anywhere near as proud as his granddaughter, he’s not likely to accept any help she offered.

That conversation can wait, though. They’ll work together to find a solution later.

For now, Cheryl just holds Toni tightly and listens to everything she’s finally ready to say.


End file.
